Biology Department Committee on Justice, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Mission Statement
Our Justice, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (JEDI) mission arose out of a commitment to foster and celebrate diversity within our department and to ensure equitable learning opportunities for all in our community. Exchange of different viewpoints is not only integral for scientific endeavors but also important for the enrichment of education and growth of individuals and community. However, multiple systemic barriers exist that limit the potential of social diversity, including in academia. We hope to address those obstacles by striving to increase participation of underrepresented groups at all academic tiers in the Biology Department and more broadly at Georgetown University. We envision a diverse Biology Department where we expect prior assumptions and biases, both academic and personal, to be respectfully challenged, and from this to allow ideas thus tested and defended to grow, intertwine, and create a department that is highly collaborative and supportive of every member of our community. All are welcome, we will change with your membership. We welcome honest and open discussion, share stories, and encourage feedback on diversity issues.
Charge Statement
The Committee on Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) consists of undergraduate students, graduate students, research staff/fellows, non-tenure line teaching faculty, and tenure-line faculty. The committee’s responsibilities include:
- Identifying those policies and practices that disempower, disenfranchise, and disadvantage members of our community and those that create a just, equitable, diverse, and inclusive environment.
- Creating evidence-based policy proposals for department consideration and voting, especially in the three areas of (1) governance, (2) recruitment/retention of faculty/ staff/students, and (3) education/training of both graduate and undergraduate students.
- Providing equity perspectives on the departmental committees that are responsible for undergraduate and graduate students and studies, and representing department interests and learning from analogous committees representing other departments, the University, and disciplinary societies.
- Creating opportunities for internal engagement of our full community in JEDI-informed work and external communication of our equity work.